They’re Back… Bed Bugs Puttin on the Ritz!

Thought New York had put that sad bed-bug chapter to rest? Think again. The pestersome critters who have tormented the city with their medieval blood-leeching have expensive taste, it seems. The Cimex lectulariushas struck again, this time at the Ritz, the New York Times reports.

Evidently, room 1005 is the epicenter of the infestation. A disgruntled guest staying in the suite went so far as to produce a dead specimen before abruptly checking-out.

The hotel staff is on edge, worrying that they’ll track the insidious arthropods to their own homes. Rosanna Polanco, who was given the thankless task of cleaning room 1005, claims she wasn’t told about the infestation, only learning of the scourge when approached by an expert exterminator who told her to be careful.

Ms. Polanco said she was worried about her family — in case she had unknowingly picked up a bedbug on her clothing and carried it home. “I haven’t checked my house,” she said. “I don’t know how to inspect my house.”

Scott Geraghty, the hotel’s general manager, confirmed that a bedbug had been found in the room. “Bedbugs are inevitable,” he said. “They’re brought in by guests and come in on luggage or things of that nature.”

Maybe the hotel should invest in a bedbug sniffing dog. Only purebreds need apply.